Dark Desires (Yandere BNHA x Reader)
by aetherlocket
Summary: I am cursed. Not being able to speak without anyone who listens in falling in love with you is a curse right? One day, my best friend Mei Hatsume gives me a support item that should nullify my quirk and let me live a normal life. I take this chance with full intent to make a new beginning for myself. Her support items have never failed, so nothing should go wrong, right?
1. Let today be a new beginning

'I don't possess a quirk.'

This is a phrase that is much easier to translate into sign language than the truth.

My quirk has always brought me immense embarrassment. And as such, I believed it would bring embarrassment to my parents as well. I mean, my parents are capable of becoming one of the top heroes with flashy combat oriented quirks, but they ended up with a mutation baby with a completely unrelated, useless quirk. How disappointed would they be?

I guess that I was just destined to be an introvert due to my controlling guardians, and I hated it. My quirk just wasn't meant for me. It was meant for a flirty extrovert that knew what they wanted and how to get it or something. I feel like I was supposed to be a different person.

My quirk came two years late. My parents were angry but let it go and waited some more time. When I got it, I made an effort to conceal it from the world the moment I fully understood it. I did not find out what my quirk was in a very fun way..

I had firstly introduced the idea of me being a super late bloomer. I had heard of people not getting their quirks until their teens. It was rare, but it happened.

My doctor ruined it by saying that there are more factors that would be visible if I was a part of this phenomenon, so my cover was blown. I had no explanation and brushed it off as her being a very unlucky child and a first case.

It didn't work for long.

"(Y/n), are you hiding something from us?"

My mother was relentless, with no idea how to handle such a situation with care and respect, even to a little girl. The woman stomped her foot and crossed her arms, awaiting an explanation that wouldn't ever come.

"No, mama," a six year old me lied, a blush of shame forming. Luckily, my quirk didn't work around my parents, but I wasn't sure why exactly. I had learned the extent of my quirk from an earlier experience and knew too many things for such a young girl.

My mother didn't believe it so be so, and neither did my father.

After that failed, their doctor introduced the idea of my quirk being something that was unable to be used or even discovered naturally.

I was grateful for him once again even if he blew my cover earlier. That seemed to appease my parents for the time being. With no useable quirk, I couldn't get into any hero course, and my parents weren't happy about that. They were high school drop outs and 'just wanted their offspring to do better,' as they called it.

I overheard them talking one night when I was six, a week before I began going to elementary school for the first time. They wanted to send me to a normal elementary and middle school for now and then for high school, I would be switched to a hero school, UA, where they wanted me to be in 1A. Because I liked arts and crafts, they considered enrolling me into the Support course, so if I never developed a quirk, I still had a chance to become successful in some way. I never caught a break, did I?

Then again, I won't be able to avoid speaking forever, and I know that.. but I just don't want to believe it.

**. . .**

School had been balancing between hell and purgatory all my life. In elementary, my parents thought I was mentally impaired because I didn't speak. When they saw my high grades, they retracted and accepted that I was just being shy, since I talked around them but not at school.

After an incident related to my quirk in daycare that I've almost wiped completely from my memory, I was extra careful in school from then on and didn't take any chances. It was easy as long as I studied hard and I made it into junior high with flying colors.

In junior high, I was invisible. It was almost blissful that now, no one ever made an effort to speak to me. If they did, they strayed away after they found out I was mute and couldn't actually hold a long conversation with most people, or just asked for my homework. I enjoyed it more than I should have, I think.

But then, something went wrong during the last two weeks before I would be going to high school.

I was minding my own business in a free period and had my leg sticking out because I was sore from physical education. I felt something push against my leg.

Katsuki Bakugo's blind ass tripped over my leg and landed flat on his face.

Yeah, that asshole who was bullying the cute green haired kid. I always felt so bad for watching by and not doing anything, and I guess that this was my karma. I didn't have many classes with them, mostly my last two periods on Fridays and Mondays, where Katsuki was usually too bored to bother Deku much (I think that's his name, that's what he always called him. I thought it was a pretty insulting name for a parent to give their kid though..) but I always saw Katsuki rough him up in the hallways.

Ever since I accidentally tripped him, Katsuki had shared his angry energy between Midoriya and I because I embarrassed him, even though no one would ever dare mention it again. I got the same treatment, except I didn't cry or apologize. I didn't even say anything to him. I just moved on and powered through school, avoiding him as much as I could. Besides, there was almost no time left. What's the point?

But this didn't stop my self confidence from plummeting.

"Why the hell don't you talk, huh?"

A hand on my shoulder startled me. It was a Monday, that Friday would be the last day of school, so I was trying to enjoy the last week we had of nothing after finals.

I jumped back, closed my sketch notebook and stared at Katsuki's scowling expression as he seemed to begin steaming at my cluelessness. I tilted my head, knowing that he wouldn't understand sign language and hoping he would go away. I was beginning to get nervous already since we were alone in the classroom after school, and who knows what this guy would do angry and alone. He circled around my desk to stare at me from the front.

"You're not fucking deaf. I know you have a working throat and voice box.. so fucking talk!" Katsuki exclaimed, slamming his hands onto my desk.

I was surprised, to say the least. Most people didn't care that I didn't speak, and despite bullying me, he hadn't made a comment about that yet during the painful week of torture he had given me. Most assumed that I was in an accident that rendered me mute after they found out that I can indeed hear them, and most people brushed it off as having my own reasons. Most people respected it. The jackass must've assumed I just didn't feel like answering.

I wrote the word 'mute' on a piece of paper, and with an involuntary scowl, returned to my drawing.

"_Bullshit_!" Katsuki growled, snatching the notebook from my hands. He took the paper with the drawing out of the book, and then ripped the notebook apart from its spine. He made sure to crumble then drawing. He placed his hands gently on either side of my face and then roughly pulled me off of the chair. It fell sideways to the ground as he pulled me by my collar up to his face level.

"You have daddy issues or something? Refusing to talk when you obviously can.. I take that as blatant disrespect." It caught me off guard and we locked eyes for a second. I shut my eyes and frantically tried to kick him off. Eye contact made me anxious, paranoid.. All of the bad feeling one could have. His grip only tightened.

"I won't let go until you fucking speak!" He didn't let go. I only wondered what kind of parents he must have to let a teenage boy get this out of hand.

When he began to choke me is when I began to genuinely become afraid.

I placed my hand on his arm, pulling, begging him internally to let me go. I didn't understand why he couldn't just leave me alone.

"If I let go, will you talk?"

With the little strength and moving space I had, I weakly nodded.

"I don't believe you," he said, and then lightened his grip around my neck, still making me hover above the ground. "Who the fuck do you think you are? Trip me and think you can get away with it and even ignore me? I should've taught you this lesson a while ago-"

"Let go!"

It slipped out. I immediately regretted everything. His grip loosened and eventually he let me go, and I fell to the floor with a loud thud.

Katsuki didn't say anything for a while. He just stood there, dazed. His gaze swept down to me on the floor. I was still groaning in pain. A million of intrusive thoughts were probably in a nasty milkshake swirling in his head. I almost felt sorry for him. That's what happened when someone was exposed to my voice.

"Fuck," I said again. One, because of the pain. Two, because my quirk had seemed to have taken its toll and there was nothing I could do for him, so there was no point in resisting the urge to speak anymore. I messed up big time. This was quite the last thing I ever wanted to happen. I had trained myself to not speak even when under a stressful situation, but the sudden touching had just bypassed it all in just a second. All of that training; for nothing. No one had ever done that to me, so why would I have some kind of defense? Yet I blamed myself, still.

When I looked up at him, his face was bright red, his eyebrows were still furrowed in anger, earning himself a pretty goofy but angry expression. He looked like he was battling with himself inside. His eyes followed as I stood with a limp.

My quirk didn't just make someone infatuated with me and ignore all that they stood for. It altered the way the person treated me depending on their actual personality. A kind person will remain to be kind but may become a bit more clingy. If they hated me, they will fight with themselves over it until they go crazy, and become jealous. It wasn't that dangerous, but to the wrong person, it could be. This is what was happening to Katsuki. Everyone that it affected made them do different things, and it was terrifying that I couldn't predict it completely.

I glared at him, as if to say 'I told you so' and frantically picked up my books and speed-walked past him. I didn't want to deal with him when he came to his senses, so I went to the library and hid in the back behind a dictionary. I spent a lot of time thinking about what an asshole he is and wondering if it's a big deal that he heard my voice.

The next day came and I dreaded coming to school, mostly dreading that I would see him.

When I went to my locker in the morning to get a book, there were flowers instead. They were my favorites; daisies. Attached was a note.

_'(L/n), _

_Don't hold a grudge about yesterday. It's not a big deal. _

_Don't be mad goddamnit. It's annoying me just thinking about it. _

_I found these ugly flowers and I had no where else to put them so just fucking take them. _

_-Bakugo'_

Needless to say I groaned and hit my head against the locker a little bit too hard. The effects were beginning.

Whenever I spoke to someone, usually asking for a pencil or what the homework was, Katsuki would interfere somehow. Not in a cute way; he'd make an excuse and push them away from me, but never forgot to insult me for being mute or stupid or clumsy or gullible.

Suddenly the straight A student and future number one hero, Katsuki (according to him) was asking me for help on extremely easy homework with an attitude and refused to take no for an answer, 'because I had good grades' but in reality I had a 76 in that subject while he had a 92.

And then he cursed at me and demanded that we go out for ice cream or something because 'he could see that I was still mad at him' which I refused and had to hide in the girls bathroom until he calmed down and stopped creating explosions for intimidation. He even began using my first name.

Thankfully, this only lasted for a week. Why? Well, it was the last week, remember? Summer break finally came and I was free from my short but long torture. This is how I found out that the effect wears off after a period of time (during which they cannot see me or communicate with me in any way) but I felt like there was something more to its conditions that I'll have to find out myself the hard way.

On my first day at UA, I saw Katsuki again in the hallways, and I immediately picked up my walking pace and swung past him. He definitely recognized me, but didn't seem to care. He didn't have that flustered face in middle school and didn't make an effort to speak to me. I didn't want to relive that anyways. Only a week of that torture and it made me shake just thinking about it.. imagining any longer would break me. I was glad to know that there was a way for my quirk to wear off. I guess I should've been happy that he didn't care for me anymore, and I was back to being invisible.

And from then on, I began to consider myself completely mute and vowed to never speak a word no matter what. Attention was nice, but not this kind. It was hard, but I managed to get this far, so why give up?

**. . .**

Mei greeted me as I stepped into the lab. She was too busy to face me. I took a peek on what she was working on; it was some kind of mask like-item.

"Want to see?" Mei asked in excitement, not taking her eyes off of what was probably her new baby.

I hummed, basically telling her to hold on as I was too tired to listen to her ramble. She obliged while I unpacked my bag full of nails, wrenches and other things. I sighed; I wasn't completely ready for this day. I hadn't been feeling well, but at least my life was more stable than it was towards the end of middle school. Absolutely no problems so far. My only trouble is getting through school without being able to speak, but my teachers understood my situation that I had explained to them. My biggest worry at the time was a due project based on developing support items that I hadn't started.

"What are you gonna do for your birthday?" Mei asked. She stopped working and looked at me for a moment for my answer.

I shrugged and smiled. She nodded and went back to work.

I was surprised that she remembered my birthday. We had only met the year before and I've only told her once. Then again, I remembered hers.

She started talking again. "Well, if you prefer to stay indoors, there's nothing wrong with that. We can have a movie-night," she said and dropped her tools. She wiped some sweat off of her brow. "Whew. Almost done."

I coughed to get her attention and told her '_Sure_' in sign language, which was just putting my finger on my mouth and moving it forward quickly. I was a person of few words, even in sign language. I learned the minimal basics of it and I don't intend to get complicated with my 'words'.. But I do indeed have lots of thoughts that never get through to the outside.

Mei was nice enough to learn basic sign language for me, and I simply wrote on a notepad when it got too complicated for her. I never thought I'd be grateful for her, but here I am. She's never asked me why I don't speak and respected me. She was my only friend.

"That's great!" she squealed.

I finished unpacking my things for my project and decided to procrastinate a bit longer.

'_Project_?' I signed curiously.

Mei giggled. "That sign is so cute." I rolled my eyes. "And no, I finished my project, but it's a surprise. This right here is a gift for someone."

'_Who_?' I signed with a deadpan, ignoring her comment.

"That one is too. And it's a secret!"

I rolled my eyes and leaned in to get a glimpse. She didn't try to stop me from sneaking a peek. I was right; it was a mask type item that only covers the mouth. It was transparent in the middle for some reason. It had straps like a gas mask. It seemed to have a small metal box on the side, which was weird for a mask.

"You caught me! It's a gift for you!" she admitted all too quickly.

I was taken aback. I looked at her and then at the mask. And then it hit me.

'_My voice?_' I angrily signed. I wasn't sure if I was actually angry at her. Yes, it was a very kind gesture, but at the same time, I was conflicted about it. But why?

When she saw my expression, her own face softened and she leaned against the counter. "A few weeks ago, a girl came up to me and asked if I can make her a mask that would nullify the effects of her voice quirk. It would make others around her sleepy, which didn't let her make friends and ruined her self confidence," she began. "So of course, I just couldn't let that slide, so I made a mask for her that would nullify the effects in a discreet way. My parents had done it before, so they gave me a programmed metal box, and all I had to do was make the actual mask, make a couple tweaks and connect it to the box. All it does is alter your voice in such a way so that the effect it gives off doesn't work anymore. Voice quirks are known to be nullified through support items and masks, so why not do it for you, when you seem to be struggling?"

I almost cried right there on the spot.

"I finished the mask for her yesterday, and she came up to me saying that it works perfectly, and she's already made some new friends. I made it again and changed it to match your quirk a little better for you," Mei said. "Don't worry, this won't be your only gift. But I thought I owe this to you!"

I stood there frozen for a moment, before getting the urge to yell, 'I LOVE YOU! THANK YOU!' but I knew that it would be a disaster, so instead, I ran up to her and tackled her to the ground. I hated myself for being angry a few seconds ago.

"Give me a minute woman!" Mei screeched and laughed manically a second later. I wasn't entirely sure if my laugh counted as part of my quirk, so I suppressed it, but it just came out as a loud snort.

"Get off Ms. Piggy!" She ended up shoving me away and getting back to work on the mask.

The longer I stared, the more I realized she was a godsend. Minutes felt like hours as I waited for her to finish. I felt bad for rushing her by tapping my feet, but I wanted it so bad.

"One last one.. There!" Mei exclaimed and jumped away. "How's it lookin'?"

She gave me a small mirror and I audibly gasped. I didn't know that the mask would actually look good on a person.. I think she made it specifically fit my head/jaw shape, but no one knows where she got those measurements, and I didn't want to know. It fit perfectly over my mouth. It was a bit transparent, not obscuring it completely so it would be allowed to be worn in school. It was white with a (f/c) accent.

I smiled bigger than I ever had before. Maybe this would be the start of a new life. A new beginning. A restart button, all thanks to Hatsume Mei.

"Take it off from the back, like a bra," Mei said happily. "It's foldable and everything!"

I practiced for a bit, finally mastering the kind of complicated moves needed to unlock it. I already had trouble taking off my bra, so it was a real challenge. I hugged Mei one last time.

"Come on, try it!" she exclaimed.

I put the mask on and took a deep breath. I looked at her with an unsure gaze and she frantically nodded.

"I'm sure, do it!"

My heart was pounding in my ears.

"Hi."

Mei stayed quiet. Her smile grew bigger and bigger. "See!"

"I.. I can talk now?" I said. My voice was raspy, unused. I was already having trouble with thinking how to pronounce some words.. I knew it was be hard to get used to it all. When my quirk is activated, my voice sounds silky smooth no matter what, but this is what my voice really sounds like.

"Aw, don't cry now.." Mei said. I hadn't even noticed the tear falling down my cheek.

"It's time to let go of yesterday." She stepped up to me and wiped it off my face. "Let today be a new beginning."

**. . .**

**3rd person**

Mei waved off the ecstatic girl. The pink haired girl had never seen her so happy. Actually, she hadn't ever seen her cry either, not once. It was surreal to watch the now masked girl skip away with the intent to actually speak for once.

Mei bowed to an invisible audience clapping for her, as proud as a mother, and took out her project. She revised it one last time. She was a bit paranoid that she had made an imperfect somewhere, and it was obvious, having checked it about fifty eight times. She also took out her presentation notes and began practicing her speech.

There was an angry knock on her door, interrupting her. She yelled, "One second!" to which she put her baby in a safe place and rushed over.

"Yes?" She smiled as softly opened the door, but it was flung open by the person at the opposite end. Mei shrieked as she had thought a metal bolt from the door would scratch one of her creations, but calmed down soon after.

"HATSUME!" Mei recognized the angry voice as the girl with the sleeping quirk. Immediately, she felt herself get a bit drowsy. Although, the more energetic the person, the harder it was to make them sleepy, so Mei was safe from her quirk. The most Sleepy's quirk was able to actually do was make someone decide to take a quick nap.

"Here to thank me again, Sleepy?" Mei grinned, having forgotten her actual name.

"No!" Sleepy threw something on the ground and Mei gasped as her gaze caught it. The mask split in two as it hit the hard floor. Sleepy was literally shaking in anger, her pale face red, and Mei had never been more confused.

"Did I do.. something wrong?"

Sleepy growled. "Your stupid mask nullified my quirk. Thanks for that. But in just two hours it just randomly stopped working and I think it actually amplified it! Everyone in my class fucking fainted in the fucking classroom when I should only be able to make someone suddenly decide to take a nap! And now I'm probably going to be suspended, so thanks a fucking lot."

"Wait, it did what now?"

Sleepy stood at the door tapping her feet against the floor impatiently. "I demand an explanation."

"C-Can you tell me a bit more about what happened?" Mei asked as she looked through her bag, taking out a screwdriver.

Sleepy stared. "It's just as I said. I think someone I spoke to hours ago also was affected.. like, how does that even work?!"

"Oh man.." Mei frantically picked up the mask and set it on her desk. She laid it down and opened the back box, revealing in its complicated maze, a red wire among the rest, and she slapped her cheeks as hard as she could.

"I put the completely wrong program in!" Mei screeched. "They're in metal boxes that look completely identical and I didn't even bother to check! What is wrong with me?!"

"Why the hell would you develop something that didn't do the same thing but looked the same on the outside without a damn label?!" Sleepy demanded.

"I don't know!" Mei cried. "My parents made these, not me! The program I put in is an old model that they specifically told me not to use.. I wanted to try fixing the old ones so I brought them along and must've mixed them up! I wasn't thinking! There must've just been a malfunction with the old model.."

"The whole malfunction thing is understandable, but why the hell did the thing amplify my quirk?!" Sleepy exclaimed. "It shouldn't make people so tired that they pass out at all, no matter how much they hear my voice. Isn't it just a nullifier? Hell, doesn't it just filter my voice a bit differently? How can it do that?"

"...I'm not sure why it's doing that. And it's scary," Mei said in a hushed tone. "Oh wait.. I just gave someone else a model of the mask.." Mei quickly opened all of the nullifiers she had laid in her bag. "God, I hope I didn't mix that one up too.."

The old and new models had distinct differences when they were opened up. The old had red wires smacked in the middle, and the new models had green ones instead.

As she opened them up and laid them down, there was only old model left. "Shit, I used the old one again.. I'm so stupid. I should've separated them.. or fixed them right away.. or.. I don't know.."

"Stop blaming yourself," Sleepy said with a sigh. "Sorry for being so angry... We can figure it out. I just hope their quirk wasn't too dangerous. Especially since it'll be amplified too."

Mei felt some sweat form on her forehead. "Y-Yeah! Me too.. Come on, let's go report this.."

_I'm kinda mad.. nothing happened in this chapter but I managed to accidentally make it too long._

_Updates coming soon!_


	2. I think it's time I let it go

I was so blinded by my excitement that I almost fell down the stairs on the way to the cafeteria.

In addition, I also slammed into someone's amazingly broad back while finally shifting my way through the waves of students walking with their food.

It was embarrassing, sure, but I still had a stupid grin plastered on my face despite it all, even when the pain shot through my tailbone.

"Are you ok?" A low voice spoke up from the table.

I almost didn't notice the hand reaching out to me. I groaned.

"Come on, let me help you up," another voice said.

"Sorry!" I said and held onto the person's hand for support. I looked up to see an older student very resemblant of Vault Boy. His grin overpowered mine instantly; it would definitely be contagious if I wasn't already smiling. "Thank you so much. Oh, that feels so good to say.."

"Huh?" He blinked. Looking back at his friend, who had cute pointy ears and a confused look, they both chuckled. "Well, no problem. Are you a first year?"

I instinctively went to sign 'Yes' and stopped myself. "I sure am," I said.

"Ah, great. We've been going around introducing ourselves to first years. Well, my friend here has been a little shy. That's Amajiki Tamaki, and I'm Togata Mirio."

Amajiki waved, hiding his face behind his arm.

"Ah! I've heard people talk about you! You guys must be strong. And Togata, you're Sir Nighteye's apprentice right?" I marveled. I heard these things through gossiping students. "I'm (L/n) (Y/n)."

"I guess you can say that. Nice to meet you. What were you so happy about just now, Miss (L/n)?" Togata smiled. He had such a contagious smile.

"Well.. I was happy because I can finally talk again!" I said and pointed to my mask.

Before Togata could speak, someone else did for him.

"I got the snacks, line was super long- Oh, who is this?" A blue haired girl said, holding three bags of chips as she circled around me. "New friend of yours? What does that mask do? It looks cool."

"I- Thanks. Well, it lets me talk," I spat out. I realized that it wasn't exactly a lie, but not the truth either.

"Oo, cool! How does it do it? Why can't you talk without it? Did you make it yourself? If I take it off, does your voice just disappear?" The energetic girl didn't stop with the barrage of questions.

"I, uh.." I held my head, glancing over to the two boys, begging for help with my gaze.

"Hah, well, thanks for the snacks," Togata interrupted accompanied by a nervous laugh. "This is Hado Neijire, she completes our little group and as you can see, she's very curious about certain things. You may have heard of her, too."

"Oh, yeah, definitely. I heard that you won a beauty contest and that you're also one of the strongest ones here," I said. Neijire nodded with a grin.

"You sure know a lot about us," Togata laughed.

"I observe from afar."

With that, I left while they stood there with confused expressions.

"Be safe, I'll see you around!" Togata yelled. I smiled at the hospitality.

However, I had no time to dally around if I wanted to find who I was actually looking for before lunch was over. Mei would want me to socialize so that's what I intended to do.

As I passed by the talking crowds of students, I felt like it was the best day of my life once it finally sunk in that I could speak.

"Where is she..?" I muttered to myself. I grinned because I wasn't able to do that before without being paranoid about having someone hear me.

Then, I spotted a familiar patch of brown hair across the cafeteria. I wasn't sure if it was her, but when she turned around a bit, I could tell that those rosy cheeks definitely belonged to her.

"Ochaco!" I cried, pulling her into a hug and lifting her up from her seat a bit. "How are you?" I smiled, but it faded once I saw her terrified expression.

"Aaah!" Ochaco screeched and covered her ears. "W-Why are y-you talking?!"

"Well, that's a bit rude," a boy with glasses said assertively.

"This mask nullifies my quirk, don't worry," I said to Ochaco, grinning.

Ochaco looked up and her red cheeks got even more red. "Oh! Sorry, I didn't even think of that.. Iida, this is (L/n). I reacted like that because listening to her voice will.. uh.. not end well, but now she has a filter thingy so it's all good to listen to it, right?"

"Yup!" I still couldn't make my smile die down just a little.

"Ah, I see." Iida nodded and continued eating. "How do you two know each other? I haven't seen you around and you seem to be good friends."

"We attended the same middle school for a year," I explained quickly.

"(Y/n), you have an accent," Ochaco teased. "Are you sure you're Japanese?"

"Well, my parents have an accent so I probably just picked it up."

I had only known Ochaco for two weeks during that time in middle school, but we had quickly become friends. I transferred before Ochaco ever got a phone. We had met again during the beginning of the school year at UA, but we could rarely talk since we had different lunch periods and completely different courses.

"She didn't have a phone, so we never got back in touch," I said to Iida.

"Well, my family couldn't even afford one," Ochaco laughed. "Now we can talk more though!"

I tried to come and visit her every now and then for a few seconds before lunch at the beginning of the year. Sadly, we didn't have the same lunch period, so I could only wave at her in the halls if we happened to cross paths.

"Uraraka, what did you mean by 'not end well' when you spoke about her quirk?" Another voice surfaced. I vaguely recognized it.

"Hi Midoriya!" I beamed when I saw his face, and in the meantime, dodging his question that I preferred not to answer. It all clicked. I had no clue about his existence at this table until that moment. I was a bit jealous of how invisible he was a few seconds ago.

"Oh wait, I know you!" Midoriya said. "You were in Aldera, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I may have witnessed your whole.. situation.. sorry I never said hello or stood up for you.."

"Oh, you mean that whole Kacchan thing?"

I giggled. "Is that his nickname? Yeah, I'm sorry, I felt so bad just watching.."

"Oh, we're fine now," Midoriya blushed and waved. "We've moved past it.. I think."

Ochaco said, "To answer your question- well, (Y/n), do you want to tell him?" She stopped herself.

I was about to agree, but then I thought about it for a second. If someone had told me that listening to their voice affects me in any way, I would be a bit creeped out, even if they had a mask. What if they were lying?

"I think it's time I let it go," I said. "It's not a problem anymore. Sorry Midoriya."

"Oh, it's not a problem!" he chirped and waved his hands dismissively.

"That's great," Ochaco replied. "Iida, can you move over a bit so (Y/n) can sit?"

Iida obliged and I thanked them as I sat down. "Do you have any food?" Iida asked as he took a chunk out of his own plate.

"I, uh.. already ate upstairs. No worries," I said. "I should be in the lab, but I was so happy about getting this mask that I just had to tell someone..."

"I understand," said Iida. "Congratulations. I'd be excited to speak after not being able to for so long."

"Thank you," I said meekly.

"Stop being so shy, let it all out!" Ochaco chirped.

I rolled my eyes. "It's not as easy as you think."

I suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap around me. "I know. It'll be hard. It'll get easier though."

I swear I saw Iida wipe a tissue across his eyes as Midoriya furiously whisked away at his plate with a blush. I realized that I was as stiff as a rock. I focused on my breathing, hugged back and rubbed my head against hers. "So sweet of you, Ochaco."

"I'm sorry that I never made an effort to talk to you. I admit that I was scared of your quirk," Ochaco said, her tone lowering in shame.

"I don't blame you at all," I said, though I couldn't help but be a little bit hurt. Was that the reason why she never made a huge effort to see me?

Was I too high maintenance?

'I can't break this mask or lose it,' I thought. 'If I do, I'll be miserable. I've been missing out on so much...'

**3rd person**

"Do you know where (Y/n) (L/n) is?"

"Who's that?" The student blankly stared. "No idea."

"But we're all in the Support co- you know what, never mind.." Hatsume grumbled.

"She wasn't the most popular was she?" Sleepy snickered.

"What was the last thing she told you?" Aizawa asked. He was the first teacher to encounter Sleepy and Hatsume after their discovery, and so he was thrown into this mess.

"She was just crying of happiness and then left, she didn't tell me where she would go. I feel so bad.." Hatsume said.

Aizawa nodded and stood in front at the cafeteria. "Will (Y/n) (L/n) please report to the office?"

'What a perfect day for the intercom to stop working,' Aizawa thought.

When no one stood from their table, Hatsume continued walking and scanning the large area. "Where is she?" she muttered.

"Excuse me, Mei Hatsume right?"

Hatsume turned to Ochaco's voice. "Yeah, that's me."

"Are you looking for (Y/n)? She was just here.. I think she went back upstairs for something."

Hatsume began to sweat. "Oh yeah? Did she talk to you?"

"Yeah, which was surprising at first. She was happy about her new mask. You know about her quirk right? It nullifies it. I haven't seen her so social, ever."

"Thanks.." Hatsume sighed, and turned back to Aizawa and Sleepy. "Eraserhead! Uraraka said that she went back upstairs."

Aizawa nodded. "You two can go back to your breaks.. I'll find her."

"No," Hatsume interrupted, holding onto Aizawa's sleeve as he turned.

"Her quirk doesn't work on adults, correct?" Aizawa raised a brow. "Then I should be the one going."

"I caused this. I need to see her," she insisted with pleading eyes. "There's no guarantee it'll suddenly stop working anyways."

Aizawa stared at the girl and he finally gave in. "Fine. Come with me. You too Akia," he pointed to Sleepy as he spoke.

—

"While we look, why don't you tell me exactly how this all happened?"

Sleepy and Hatsume exchanged a look as they walked down the hall behind Aizawa, away from his line of sight. Sleepy shook her head, and Hatsume pursed her lips in response.

"Please forgive me sir," Hatsume began. "I tried to make a support mask that can nullify voice quirks that can't be deactivated, but there was a flaw. It stopped working suddenly for Sleepy, and I'm afraid it'll happen to (Y/n) too. T-Though I'm not completely sure, I could just be worrying too much... but her quirk is much more concerning to me as well."

Hatsume didn't like lying. But hell, this was a serious situation. She made the hard decision of saying that there was simply a chance that the mask would malfunction instead of what she truly knew; that it only delayed the effects, according to Sleepy's experience. Why get herself in more trouble?

Aizawa sighed. "You know there will be repercussions for this?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. It could be worse than what you're saying, though."

Hatsume and Sleepy looked at each other again. "Yeah, you're right," Sleepy said. "Thank God it isn't anything worse.."


	3. I love you, please don't ignore me

It turned out to be too much and I rushed upstairs to clear my mind. I don't think I've ever had my heart race so much before. I'm finally able to do whatever I want! Well, maybe I'm over exaggerating, but how would you feel right now?

I was in the lab again, singing one of my favorite songs while reviewing my project, anxiously taking out and screwing back in some bolts. I've always wanted to sing that song without the fear of anyone hearing me... for the first time in my life, I felt free as a bird.

This is what will change my life for the better, finally. No more being the weird mute girl, and I've already kinda made some more friends!

My next class started in just five minutes, so I prepared my bag and waited for Mei to come back. She usually stayed in the lab with me, but I guess my sudden running off prompted her to do the same. I had probably made a mistake by refusing to eat even just a bit while in the cafeteria.

Just two minutes before I was scheduled to be in class, there was a knock on the door that didn't sound too patient.

"Mei?" I muttered right before I opened the door. There stood Eraserhead or the 1-A homeroom teacher, Mei and a girl I hadn't ever seen before.

"Don't speak again," Eraserhead demanded and pretty much pushed me back inside the lab. "Wait out here you two," he told Mei and the other girl."

Mei protested. "But you said-"

"Just wait."

He pushed the door closed in her face and I took a step back, confused.

"I need to discuss something with you. Now that we're alone, feel free to talk."

I blinked. Why would the 1-A teacher want to talk to me?

"Oh, uh, now, I can actually talk with anyone around because of this mask!" I beamed. "Not just adults now."

He shook his head. "Look... That's why I'm here actually. About your mask."

3rd Person

Hatsume leaned against the door. Sleepy, or Akia, hadn't quite ever seen her so serious. Well, they didn't quite see each other often, but nonetheless, it felt weird.

"It's not your fault." Sleepy felt obligated to say this.

Hatsume shifted and sighed. She didn't even want to be reminded at that moment. "We both know that it is my fault. I accept that. I just hope..." she trailed off.

"That her mask doesn't do the same thing mine did," Sleepy finished her sentence and smiled.

"Took the words right outta my mouth!"

A few minutes later, Aizawa and the mute girl walked out of the lab. Aizawa was holding her mask, holding it away from him as if it was contagious or something. The girl next to him wasn't crying, but she looked like she wanted to desperately.

"Hatsume," he began. "(Y/n) and I both appreciate what you did, or tried to do, but I've decided to confiscate the mask. All we can do now is wait and hope that the people she spoke to aren't affected."

"Y-Yes sir..." Hatsume bowed. Then she began yelling at herself mentally. 'Damnit. Should I tell him that I was lying? And that Sleepy's quirk was only delayed and even amplified according to her? That the mask doesn't really work at all apparently? That we're all in more danger than he thinks? No.. it's already over. He's taken the mask away, and if he gives it back to me, I can fix it.. if he allows me to. The worst is over. The important thing is that she doesn't have the false sense of security the mask gave her. Even if something bad does happen, (Y/n) should know how to reverse it. Besides, it's just a little infatuation with the people she's spoken to isn't it? She can handle it. However, that would include me as well.. No, don't think about it. I can handle her quirk. It's over. It's over-'

"Are you alright Hatsume?" Aizawa asked.

"Yes of course," she replied immediately. "I'm so sorry, (Y/n)... it's all my fault. I promise, I'll find a way for you to speak freely. I'll make it up to you!"

All Hatsume got was a nod and a soft smile, but this time it was forced.

Back to their old ways of communicating in the same day she learned to speak again.

"I'll make this right," Hatsume whispered to herself.

In the end, Aizawa had to speak whomever the mute girl had spoken to, making sure that they didn't feel any effects of her quirk.

The girl told him everything that happened with 'one of the people she had affected with it before,' (Bakugo, but she wouldn't say that just because he's in Aizawa's class), and based on that, he made sure that they were alright, as they weren't showing any kind of behavior similar to him. He managed to do this without revealing the girl's actual quirk or the reason he was asking them these questions. He didn't want to scare them.

Of course, if the mask had the same issue as Sleepy's, he wouldn't find anything wrong with the people she spoke to. Hatsume couldn't help but begin her old habit of biting her nails again. If this was the case, then she would be affected to, as she was the first one that (Y/n) spoke to. Mei just dug herself into a huge hole with that lie.

"So whenever I feel the effects, which I don't even know what they are, is when everyone else she spoke to will..." Hatsume sighed. "God, I messed up so badly."

1st person

I wasn't angry.

Everyone makes mistakes. I know that the mask wasn't malfunctioning because the people I spoke to acted completely normal. I told Eraserhead that, but he still confiscated it.

It was only a matter of time before I got it back anyways... But even just an hour of being able to talk around people my age was truly blessed, and I love Mei for that.

I hugged Mei before I left, and she apologized again. I couldn't count on 5 hands how many times she had done that already... like really, what could be the big deal? If it's truly how Eraserhead explained it, that the mask could malfunction at random times, then there's really nothing to worry about because it hadn't malfunctioned before it was taken from me, Mei should know that too.

But I didn't ask.

She told me that she had to give in some late homework in our teacher's office, so I left alone. I noticed that she... actually didn't bring any papers with her, or a bag.

But I didn't ask about that either.

As I walked down the hallway nearing the staircase, I felt someone staring me down. I thought people exaggerated when they say that a shiver goes down their spine when someone's fucking them with their eyes from behind— it's real. It's real and it's terrifying.

I turned around. Someone was indeed staring me down, someone I thought I never had to face ever again.

I looked around; there was literally no one else besides him, everyone had left.

I waved to him sheepishly.

Bakugo didn't say a word, and instead growled at me. He then turned on his heel and left.

Just like last time.

But I haven't spoken to him since then...

Did he recognize me after all this time? The effects of my quirk should've worn off by then, right? Maybe he remembered what happened...

When I went home that day, I felt the same feeling running down my back.

I heard little noises from behind me. I saw a shadow when I turned, one that ran away quickly.

And I received a text from an unknown number.

A picture of me walking back. That's it. When I looked back, there was no one there.

Needless to say, I had nightmares about that creepy figure following me.

And I was hit for the first time by my parents for waking them up crying and screaming.

Did I really deserve this? I wasn't sure.

Maybe, I thought, it was for the best. I don't know what my parents are going through. I was a nuisance to them. A failed child. All they wanted was someone normal, damnit.

The next day, Mei was back to her normal self, all giddy and happy. Even more clingy than usual dare I say.

"What's with the scarf?" she asked, tugging on the end.

I opened my mouth to speak but caught myself just in time. I just shrugged and pulled down the scarf to give her a weak smile. I was careful not to show any of my bruises.

"Well, it's cute, I'll give ya that!"

I couldn't miss the fact that the look in her eyes didn't match her happy tone. And who narrows their eyes and frowns after saying something like that? I instinctively pulled the scarf up to hide the marks given to me by my parents.

Did she know?

Aizawa hadn't contacted me again, and none of the people I talked to showed those weird signs, so I could definitely let myself relax.

Mei was chewing her nails all day in class. She even dropped her index cards during her project presentation and was frowning. She also kept glancing at me. I gave her a thumbs up and a few cheers to give her some motivation, which kept her going for a few seconds before she fell down again.

Thankfully, my quirk allows me to simply hand in an essay along with my project, no public speaking required. I had that going for me, at least.

I signed, 'Good job,' to Mei after she sat down. She grinned. I missed that.

After class, Mei was called to stay back for a bit by our teacher. She waved to me before I left without her, again.

I was surprised to see that girl with Mei from a few days ago outside the door. "Hi, (Y/n) right?"

I nodded. "I'm Akia. I'm sorry about your whole quirk situation... same thing happened to me."

I tilted my head. Then I realized; she must've been the girl with the sleeping quirk that Mei first made a mask for.

My face must've showed my realization because she laughed and nodded. "Yep. Sleepy. That's me... I just wanted to make sure you're ok. I know you can't talk, but a nod is all I need."

So I nodded, and she awkwardly stepped forward to hug me.

"How are they handling it? I'm guessing you found a way to reverse the effects."

I raised an eyebrow and brought her back to the now empty classroom. I took out a sticky note and wrote, 'The mask was just prone to malfunction and was confiscated.'

Sleepy frowned. "Uh, no.. Mei told me that.. um.."

I stared at her.

"Aha, you know what, never mind. I need to go. Forget what I said."

She placed the note down on my desk, and no matter how much I wanted to yell after her, she was too fast and was already halfway down the stairs before I could even comprehend what just happened.

It all began to make sense when I found a bouquet of flowers in my locker, and two letters.

Fuck.

I just wanted to die right then. Did Mei lie to Aizawa? Was she too scared of the consequences?

What the hell. Why didn't you just tell him? It's all your damn fault, take responsibility!

I assumed that the mask also amplified quirks, judging from my conversation with Sleepy. That's something that Mei definitely should've mentioned.

Maybe it made the radius larger, or the effects last a little longer.

I read the note attached to the flowers.

So I found myself doing shit all over again..

I don't know why.

I'm starting to think it's that shitty quirk of yours.

But that was like two years ago. What the fuck did you do to me?

It was obviously from Bakugo. Is that why he was staring at me earlier?

Shit, I didn't even want to look at the other letter. I stuffed it back in, away from sight.

I sighed, looking around and taking off my scarf soon after. The bruises seriously began to ache, and I needed to let my neck breathe for a moment.

"(Y/n)?"

I froze and immediately pulled the scarf back up. I smiled and looked back. I saw a familiar set of pointy ears and a nervous expression on Tamaki's face.

I waved and pulled my bag over my shoulder.

Aizawa must've spoken to him about my quirk. He already knew. And he was still willingly talking to me.

"Those bruises..."

I shook my head and smiled, trying to dismiss it. Judging from his furrowed eyebrows, he wasn't letting it go.

"If someone's hurting you.. your parents.. a boyfriend.. I can help."

I shook my head faster this time and took out a sticky note, writing, 'I swear it was just an accident, but thank you Tamaki!'

He read it, then looked up at me. "It was around your neck.."

I didn't really have anything to say to that. He handed me back my notebook.

"You can talk to me.. well.. write.. whenever," he said.

He seemed much more confident than when I first met him, but still timid. Maybe Mirio finally got to him.

Either way, I realized that I had to stay away from everyone I talked to for a while, just to make sure. Then this'll all blow over.

I couldn't look at Mei. I didn't know why. She just had this pitiful look on her face and she was always staring at me; like she wanted to say something but couldn't.

I just wanted her to admit her mistake so we could move on, but I'm not the one to initiate a conversation most of the time.

It's only fair for her to apologize.

I didn't wait for her after class and headed straight to the bathroom to wash my face. There was no one there, it was my favorite place to go to calm myself down.

"(Y/n)!"

I felt myself being pulled back violently and then turned around.

Mei was crying. She leaned her head on my shoulder. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I lied and I just made it worse when this could've been fixed so much sooner.. and now you have to deal with it.. I'm sorry.. I love you, please don't ignore me.. we can work through this..! I don't want to.. to stay away from you."

But she has to.

I didn't listen to her; the effects of my quirk were obviously affecting her mental state. That's what I wanted to believe.

I pried her away from me and smiled.

"So you'll try?" she asked.

I wrote in one of my sticky notes, 'For my quirk to wear off, we can't be together all the time.'

"But it's not your quirk! I don't feel any different from before; I just don't want to lose you!"

Oh man, she's delusional.

My phone began to ring, and she let go so I could take it out. I was a bit confused; no one calls me because they know I refuse to risk the possibility of phones not being able to stop my quirk from working. I've never tested it and I don't plan to.

I sighed and thanked whoever was calling me for saving me from Mei, however. I picked up and all I heard was high pitched screaming and a distant, "Help!"

I looked down at the caller ID. My mom.

A loud thump and then a constant crackling noise. Then someone mumbled, and the call ended.


End file.
